Isle of Man, Douglas

 So we had criss crossed the Irish sea between Scotland and Northern Ireland and now to Isle of Man which is part of the UK. I'm not clear on how all the countries fit together in the UK and still are separate but it's too complicated for me to worry about. 

Douglas, the captial of the Isle of Man which is truly an island was very welcoming. In my research I had found that there was a small gauge steam railway that had a 15 mile run to the end of the island from Douglas. 

A man who was handing out maps of the town and island tried to show us how to get to the station which I knew was only a fifteen minute walk. His speech was very confusing so we thanked him and I turned on my data roaming again to be sure we found the station in time to get on the 9:50 train. 

Google map guidance got us there with a little time to spare. We purchased return (round trip) tickets to Port Erin for about $20 USD each. The problem was trying to find a seat on the train.

The train was made up of carriages that sat four or five people across on two benches facing each other. There were many of the units that were labeled reserved for tours. When we got to the first five or so of the train, they were labeled for cruise ship. Now, yes, we knew that meant excursioin people but no one was around and it was almost time to leave. What to do?

Well, we were on a cruise ship, the only one in town, so why not? We boarded and had the carriage to ourselves until a woman came huffing and puffing and jumped in quickly. She was a local guide who was with another private group and there wasn't room for her to sit with them so she grabbed the first seat she could find.

She laughed when we told her our predicament and said everyone was very easy going around here and there wouldn't b a problem. And there wasn't. And she was delighful talking everything from history of the railcars to politics of the world. The conductor came around and said he had to leave on time with or without the cruise group. 

The guide and her group got off in Castletown which was about 3/4 of the way down the line. There is a castle to explore there and a few other scenic spots the guide mentioned. We stayed on though as I think we'd seen enough castles already and we did have a ticket to the end and back.

The railcars or carriages as I called them dated back to the 1920s and 30s. They were a bit older and much smaller than the cars on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway. I have to say as well we thought they were refurbished a bit nicer too.

At one point the return train paused as did we and a coin of some sort was passed between the two to show that they had passed and the track ahead was clear.

Arriving in Port Erin we found we had a little less than an hour to wander and snapped a few pictures of the shoreline before returning to the railway cafe for tea and a sandwich. There is a rail museum there but we passed it up for the refreshments. We were missing lunch on the ship with our time away.

It was a nice ride again through the countryside with the heavy white steam floating over the sheep and cows and the homes that we passed. Oh, the guide had offered one other spot of information we found interesting. The train does not use coal to heat the water for the steam. They manufacture some sort of recycled organic material that is environmentally safe. I didn't research to find out where the recycled stuff came from. I trust they knew what they were doing.

The ship would leave early as it was our last night and lots needed to be done before disembarkation in Belfast the next day. There would be a little glitch waiting for a taxi in a long line but solved with an Uber. A short ride to the City Airport, a long wait to drop bags for our flight, a short flight to London Heathrow, an overnight stay at the hotel there and then a nice long day of flying home and of course, the jet lag. 

We would be taking with us some fond memories to cherish but also anticipatings our next adventure--a partial world cruise with a vist to Japan to see family and another cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver to avoid the really long flight home from Tokyo. 

And for those of you who have stayed with me on the journey, here's a look at the book, In An Instant, available in paperback on Amazon and soon on Kindle. I have to get home first.